


Cupid's Chocolate

by Mattoon



Category: Dangan Ronpa - All Media Types, New Dangan Ronpa V3: Everyone's New Semester of Killing
Genre: And cameos from other DR characters too, F/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-06-27
Updated: 2018-05-22
Packaged: 2018-11-19 20:54:24
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 14,003
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11321544
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Mattoon/pseuds/Mattoon
Summary: Shuichi Saihara considered himself to be average. An average boy with a somewhat average life.But when a not so average occurrence rattles his average life, Shuichi finds himself in a situation beyond his wildest imagination!All because of one box of chocolates...Written because the New Dangan Ronpa V3 tag is currently filled with angst, rewrites, despair inducing AUs and PTSD trauma fics.Not that there's anything WRONG with those stories, but we need more romantic comedies here dammit!





	1. Ending The Averageness

**Author's Note:**

> I've had this idea in my head for a while now, hoping SOMEONE would make something like it...
> 
> But since no one did, I guess I'll just have to do it myself.

If you were to ask Shuichi Saihara about himself, the answer you’d get would be that he’s average.

Average grades, average interests, average person.

In the words of his class' resident cosplayer, he was "the normie". Of course, while she was reprimanded for being so horribly blunt, he didn't necessarily disagree.

Sure there was his talent, but honestly he felt as though he didn’t do the title justice. There was only one true Ultimate Detective at this school, and that was his senior...

...Not that he was jealous or anything. Really!

Shuichi liked being average. Sure his talent wasn’t as grand as his classmates (He couldn’t even draw a proper circle, let alone make life sized statues), but he liked the way things were.

He had great friends, he went to a great school… What more could he ask for?

Well... He didn't ask for anything. Instead, he was thrust into something he could never even imagine.

* * *

 

**Cupid's Chocolate!**

**Prologue:**

**Ending The Averageness**

 

* * *

 

Shuichi has read “My life flashed before my eyes!” in plenty of different books before.

He never imagined that he’d experience it for himself.

As he ran down the hall, the sound of angry shouts and insults echoed behind him. Looking over his shoulder, he panicked seeing that the mob behind him hadn’t given up chasing him at all at all.

“SAIHARA! GET BACK HERE RIGHT NOW!”

“Saihara-kun! Wait!”

“Dude! Come back! You’ve gotta tell me your secret!”

“I swear when I get my hands on you… YOU’RE A DEAD MAN!”

Shuichi let out a frustrated cry as an Aikido master, a pianist, and an astronaut ran after him, trampling any poor student that dared get in their way.

In fact, he was pretty sure he saw the rest of the class running behind them as well.

And then there was his… other problem.

“Mou~ Shuichi-kun… Slow down… I can’t sleep like this…”

He gulped.

Himiko Yumeno. The small red headed magician he was carrying in his arms, her face buried into his chest.

Which begged one question:

“How did I get myself into this?!”

* * *

 

To understand what our favorite capped detective was going through, we’re gonna have to go back a few hours, lunch period to be exact.

It was supposed to be an average one, with him and his friends having a nice and simple lunch, talking and laughing at whatever joke was told.

At least, it should’ve been that way. Instead, Kaito had sat down with such an upset aura, you could practically see a dark cloud over his head.

Shuichi, who Kaito had sat next to, blinked. “Um… Momota-kun?” He started. “Are you alright?”

“...” A grunt escaped the astronaut’s throat as he bowed his head in shame.

“Momota-kun! What’s wrong?” Kaede asked, surprised, “It’s not like you to be so… depressed like this!”

“...Ugh.” He moaned, raising his head. “It’s nothing…”

“He’s sad because he didn’t get any Valentine’s chocolate.” Maki said, not bothering to look up from her lunch.

“Dammit Harumaki!” The astronaut flared up in indignation as he glared at the girl next to him. “I thought you said you’d keep it a secret!”

“No.” She corrected. “I said I felt bad for you. I never said anything about not telling anyone. And stop calling me that.”

“Well you didn’t have to be so blunt about it!”

The other two of the group blinked, looking at each other before looking back at Kaito’s depressed form.

“Really? That’s why you’re so upset?” Kaede asked, tilting her head. “But Valentine’s was yesterday! And I thought I gave you chocolate…”

“Yeah, obligatory chocolate!” The astronaut threw his hands in the air. “I wanted an actual girl to walk to me with homemade chocolate and confess to me!”

“That… still doesn’t explain why you’re still so bummed about it.”

“Because!” He stood up, a fire burning in his eyes. “We’re in highschool, dammit! The time when our youthful desires are at their max, and one of them is the giving of chocolate to a loved one! It’s a rite of passage for all children into adulthood! One that I’ve been left out of- Owowow!” He winced as Maki pinched his ear and forced him to sit back down.

“Sit.” She commanded, releasing his ear. “You’re making a scene.”

“Ow~... Geez Harumaki, if I didn’t know you better, I’d think you didn’t like me…” He laughed, waving the thought off.

“Guess you don’t know me all that much.”

“Dammit, stop being so cold to me Harumaki!”

Shuichi and Kaede sweatdropped seeing the two argue before sighing. Some things between them would just never change…

“But hey-!” Kaito started, wrapping an arm around Shuichi. “At least I know I'm not the only guy who didn’t get any chocolates! Right Shuichi?”

“Um… Actually…” The capped boy said, blushing. “I did get some.”

“What?!” Kaito released his grip and reeled back in shock. In fact, even Kaede and Maki looked at him in surprise. “You got a girl to confess to you?!”

“Well… Not exactly.” He muttered, using his cap to hide his blush. “I found a box of chocolates in my locker… There was a note on it, but it was signed anonymously.”

“Wow.” Kaito whistled. Not noticing the surprise that flashed on Maki’s face. “A secret admirer! Who’d think that someone would be so shy to talk to Shuichi of all people.”

Ignoring the unintentional jab at his self confidence, the detective sighed. "...To be honest, I haven’t really put much thought into it.” Shuichi said, scratching his cheek. “I’m pretty sure it’s just a prank or something…”

“N-No!” Kaede yelled, making the boys jump. She blushed when she realized the attention was on her. “M-Maybe someone really did send you those chocolates because they cared about you Saihara-kun… And I don’t think they’d be so happy if you put so little thought into them.”

“...W-Well… Maybe…” He muttered, pulling his cap over his face. He didn’t really humor the idea of a girl actually liking him… After all, who would like a shy, over analytical boy with no confidence? You’d have to be really special to fall for a guy like him.

B-Besides… He kinda already had a crush on K-Ka... Someone… But she didn’t have to know that!

If today was a normal day, things would’ve ended there, and the four would simply go about their day as usual.

Today, however, was not a normal day.

* * *

 

A few tables away, Tenko Chabashira was impatiently tapping her fingers on the table, watching the cafeteria doors intently. Next to her was Angie, who was currently trying to make a small pyramid out of forks and other utensils she found around the cafeteria.

To her credit, it was coming out pretty good, but Tenko had other priorities.

Himiko hadn’t showed up yet.

Now normally the magician would’ve walked to lunch with the two of them, but for some reason she had disappeared as soon as the bell rung. Almost like a magic trick, unironically. Although Tenko didn’t know why she'd just disappear like that.

“Ugh…” Tenko moaned, slamming her head on the table, nearly knocking down Angie’s pyramid. “ Where is she?!”

“Calm down Tenko-chan.” The dark skinned girl smiled at her, unfazed by the near destruction of her masterpiece. “Just be patient and she’ll come to us! God always says that good things come to those who wait!”

 _“Tell that to someone on death row…”_ She wanted to say, but held her tongue. Angie wasn’t a bad person, and it would be rude of her to shut her down like that.

“Nishishi… Aw~ Is Chabashira-chan still waiting for her little girlfriend?”

“Shut it Ouma.” She spat immediately. The purple haired boy sitting at the table behind them grinned, putting his hands up in defense.

“I’m just saying.” He started, his mocking grin never faltering. “You’ve been staring at the door for the past ten minutes. Isn’t that a little obsessive?”

Tenko huffed. “And what would a dumb boy know about a girl being worried about her friend?”

“The fact that it borders on obsession?”

“Tenko told you to shut it!” Tenko stopped herself before taking a deep breath. Kokichi was known for getting under other people’s skin. She couldn’t let him get to her. “I'm sure she must be doing something important if she’s gonna be gone this long. She’ll get here when she gets here.”

“You mean like right now?” Kokichi asked, pointing at the door.

Spinning in her seat, the aikido master saw her friend walk into the cafeteria, sleepy as always… Although she did look somewhat… nervous for some reason.

Well, nothing a little girl talk wouldn't fix!

“Himiko-chan!” Tenko yelled, waving to catch the redhead’s attention. “Over here!” Himiko paused, looking at her friend before realizing something. She smiled before walking over…

Only to pass by Tenko’s table, ignoring her entirely.

“...Eh?” Tenko blinked, frozen in her spot. She rubbed her eyes together to make sure she wasn't seeing things. But true enough, her best friend had just walked by her without a second glance and was heading towards another table. Even Angie had looked up from her plastic spork creation in shock.

"Well... That's interesting."

Resisting the urge to snap at Kokichi, Tenko diverted her attention to her best friend, who was still making her way across the cafeteria.

To be more precise, she was making her way towards one table in particular.

* * *

 

After managing to convince Kaito that his "Secret Admirer Chocolate" wasn't anything special, Shuichi's group had settled into a nice comfortable silence, aside from an ocasional comment from Kaede or Kaito. 

Shuichi was enjoying it... Until he felt something poke his back.

Looking over his shoulder, the detective saw a familiar redhead wearing a witch hat.

"Umm..." He started. "Hello Yumeno-san..."

"Oh! Hello there Yumeno-chan!" Kaede greeted, looking up from her lunch. Kaito and Maki also looked up in confusion. "What brings you here?"

The girl on the other hand said nothing. She only continued poking Saihara in the back.

It was starting to get... uncomfortable.

For Shuichi, it was obvious why. It wasn't everyday a cute girl would just walk up and... start touching you. As for the others, they had to wonder why Himiko was here in the first place. She and Tenko were nearly joined at the hip, so seeing her here alone was strange.

And it was getting too strange for one detective to handle.

"U-Uh... Yumeno-san?" He started, adjusting his cap. "I-Is something wrong?"

"...Shuichi-kun..."

!

Shu...ichi...?

Did... Did she just call him Shuichi?!

That was the first red flag, enough to make the detective spin in his seat and face the magician directly. Of course, his friends and several others around them stared at her as well.

Most notably, Himiko's best friend.

"Y-Yumeno-san!" Shuichi started, a blush dusting his face. "I-Is something wrong?!"

"Since when were you two on a first name basis?" Maki asked, a rare look of surprise on her face.

"W-We're not!" Shuichi defended himself before looking at the magician in front of him. She wasn't looking at him though, prefering to stare at the floor while her cheeks burned red. Although Shuichi could make out that she seemed a bit annoyed at what he just said, if her fist clenching was any indication.

"...I... thought you said it would be okay to call you that..." Himiko just barely whispered loud enough for him to hear.

That was the second red flag. While he and Himiko had interacted with each other before, the two weren't exactly the best of friends and by no means were they so close to be on a first name basis.

Not only that, he had no idea what she was talking about.

"Y-Yumeno-chan...?" Kaede, who had awkwardly watched the girl from her spot next to Shuichi, also noticed something off. "Do... you need Saihara-kun for anything?" She asked cautiously.

"...Sorta..." Came the somewhat lazy answer.

"What does that-"

"HIMIKO!" Shuichi nearly jumped out of his skin when he saw Tenko barreling towards them at high speeds. "WHAT IS GOING ON HERE?!"

Recognizing her besties voice, the small magician turned around and lazily waved.

"Hi Tenko."

"Don't 'Hi' me!" Tenko yelled, leaning down to talk to Himiko at face level. "Tenko spent all of lunch waiting for you, and when you finally show up you come talk-" She pointed at Shuichi. "-with him!?"

"I was gonna tell you I was gonna take a while... I fell asleep before I could though."

"In the middle of class?!"

"You know I've slept through worse."

The group sweatdropped at the magician's answer.

"Well-" Tenko looked past her friend and gave Shuichi a look that could freeze hell straight over. "Do you mind telling Tenko why she's calling you by your first name?!"

"Yeah, that ain't sitting well with me either." Kaito questioned, scratching his goatee.

"S-Saihara-kun..." Kaede started, looking somewhat worried at the situation. "There's a perfectly r-reasonable explanation for this, right?"

"..." Maki said nothing, but gave Shuichi a glare that said "Talk or I'll hurt you. Badly."

Shuichi gulped. On wrong step here and he could be the victim of a very painful aikido throw.

"W-W-Well I-"

"That's an easy question to answer..." Yumeno said with a yawn at the end. But before anyone could say anything else, she smiled...

...and plopped herself onto Shuichi's lap.

The result was almost instantaneous.

"Y-Y-Yumeno-san?!" Shuchi nearly fell off his seat once the red head sat down on him. His face burned, rivaling a tomato. By this point, his entire class began staring at them, with varying emotions all around.

The ones he could clearly make out were Maki's surprise, Kaito's amazent, Kaede's bewilderment and Tenko's indignation.

"...Eh?" Himiko muttered, snuggling closer to the detective. Although her face was red, she seemed content with her position. "What's wrong?"

"That's what I'd like to know!" Tenko shouted, glaring at Shuichi as if he had commited the greatest sin imaginable. "What is going on here?! Did you do this to Himiko-chan?!"

"Wha- No!"

"Yup."

"What is that supposed to mean?!"

"C-Calm down Tenko-chan!" Kaede stood up, putting herself between Tenko and Shuichi. "Saihara-kun wouldnt do anything bad to Yumeno-chan! There has to be a good explanation for this!"

"Y-Yeah!" Shuichi raised his hands in defense. "I had nothing to do with this!"

Himiko promptly responded by grabbing Shuichi's arms and wrapping them around her with a pouty lip.

"Geez... Can't a girl sit in her boyfriend's lap in peace?"

...

...

...

...

...

...

...Eh?

"B-B-BOYFRIEND?!"

Himiko, not noticing everyone's varied level of surprise, turned around on Shuchi's lap, wrapping her legs around him.

"Man... I figured we wouldn't get much privacy here Shuichi... I blame you..." She smiled at him, who blushed even harder.

"Y-Yumen-!"

"Himiko." She stated firmly. Making him blush harder. Her eyelids were drooped and a small but genuine smile graced her features, complemented by her pink face. She looked...downright adorable. "I'm Himiko Yumeno. You're lovely girlfriend. And you're Shuichi Saihara. My wonderful boyfriend."

And that was the third red flag.

Shuichi tried to wrap his head around what just happened, but no amount of logical deduction or detective skills would help him discover what the heck just happened. While he was still extremely uncomfortable and embarrassed by the position he was in and what he just heard, looked around at his friends.

Kaito stared at him as if he had just descended from the heavens.

Maki looked at him with complete disbelief.

Kaede looked ready to cry at any moment.

And Tenko...

Well, she was downright livid.

**"S-A-I-H-A-R-AAAAAAAAAAAAAA!"**

And like that, Shuichi's average life came to an end.


	2. Witch Time! - Part 1

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Welp, this took longer than I expected. But a new instalment of Cupid's Chocolate is here!

**Cupid’s Chocolate!**

**Episode 1:**

**Witch Time! - Part 1**

* * *

 

Himiko Yumeno always loved going to fantasy conventions.

Not like that was hard to imagine. Her class had pretty much accepted calling her the Ultimate Mage rather than Magician, lest they “suffer her wrath when she puts a curse on them”.

Between pulling a rabbit out of a hat and being able to cast ice spells on your enemies, the later just sounded so much more impressive. And satisfying.

Shame that ice spell didn’t work on Kokichi though…

She shook her head. Regardless of whether Kokichi was a block of ice or not, Himiko had been waiting for quite some time for this convention to start. She had invited her friends to tag along, but Angie told her God wanted her to make something for him and Tenko tearfully announced she had to go to an aikido tournament, and wouldn’t be able to spend time with her… That and she said something about not being able to afford the ticket, but Himiko tuned that part out.

A sad smile crossed her face. Sure, her friends weren’t able to enjoy this with her, and it did hurt somewhat, but they didn’t mean any harm. Besides, they weren’t as big of fans of fantasy as she was any way, so it was fine. She came to have a good time. Just her, her trusty witch hat and…

“...Saihara-kun?”

“O-Oh! H-Hello there Yumeno-san!”

To say she was surprised at finding him of all people there was an understatement. Shuichi wasn’t the kind of person she’d imagine to be into fantasy. And she was right. His interests in literature were more along the lines of detective novels, and even when it came to movies he prefered the more down to earth dramas.

Turns out he had been given a ticket to attend the convention from a client he had a while back. And while Shuichi wasn’t the biggest magic fan, he figured he’d at least attend. He didn’t want to be rude.

But there was one thing that made her stare at him. One that, as soon as he realized what it was, made him turn away with a red face.

On his head, were a pair of wolf ears.

“...Are those…?” She asked, pointing at the false appendages on his head. Now that she looked closely, he wasn’t wearing his hat either, which was weird because Shuichi wore that thing almost everywhere.

Blushing, the boy nodded. “T-They said at the entrance that I needed a costume… So i just kinda… bought these on a whim… to see if they’d let me in…” Himiko blinked, once again drawing her attention to the fake ears.

They...  looked kinda…

“...Cute.”

“E-Eh?!”

* * *

 

“After that we spent the whole day together…” Himiko recounted, sitting peacefully in her spot on Shuichi’s lap. Her hands were on her rosy cheeks, smiling happily as the memories came to her. “People looked at us like we were a master with her familiar! We played games, saw so many impressive displays…” She happily leaned back into her boyfriend’s chest. “It was almost like our first date… It was so much fun… So I asked him if we could do it again sometime… Now look where we are…”

While Shuichi.exe was still rebooting after Himiko’s earlier declaration, the magician decided to go ahead and explain to her bestie how she and her “her lovable wolf Shuichi-kun” had ended up in a relationship.

The results were… varied to say the least.

“HAHAHA! So Shyhara’s been getting action from the witch this whole time?! That’s hilarious!”

“I-Iruma-san! You shouldn’t make fun of them like that!”

“Nishishi… Calm down there Kiiboy! She’s just jealous Yumeno-chan got a boy before her!”

“E-EH?!”

“Hmm… How peculiar. I’d never imagine the two of them entering a relationship. They must’ve hid it pretty well if no one was able to predict it.”

“Huh. Well, well good for them. Glad someone around here’s finding happiness.”

“Oh wow! This is just like in the latest of issue of “Shot Through The Heart Detective Goemon!” I can’t believe I get to see it in real life!”

“How strange… But God does say Angie should be happy for you both?”

“Gonta doesn’t get it… What’s a boyfriend and girlfriend?”

“Allow me to explain. In the terminology your wolf family, it’d be best described as-”

“I… don’t think you should finish that sentence Shinguji-kun.”

“And why not- Oh.”

After ducking quickly to avoid the chair being flung at him, Korekiyo gave a quick thumbs up.

“Thank you Amami-kun.”

“Don’t mention it.”

Seeing her initial attack fail, Tenko decided to ignore them and go back to more pressing matters.

Like what this filthy menace had done to her precious Himiko-chan!

“Saihara…” She started, effectively making the detective gulp. “Is this true?!”

“W-Well I…” He bit his lip. What was he supposed to say?

Scratch that, he knew what he had to say. He had no god forsaken idea what she was talking about!

“L-Look Chabashira-san!” Shuichi began, getting more and more nervous at the sight of an enraged Tenko. “I swear that this is all one huge misunderstanding-”

**STOMP!**

“OW!”

“Mou… Shuichi-kun, stop being so mean.” Yumeno pouted, driving her heel into Shuichi’s foot. “Even after you were the one who confessed to me, you still act like this…”

“WHAT?!”

Shuichi immediately shrunk. If Tenko’s aura was scary before, now it looked just plain terrifying.

“S-Saihara-kun…?” A soft voice quickly made Shuichi’s head turn. Kaede was staring at him, nervously. “A-Are you two actually… You know…”

Shuichi immediately shook his head, raising his hands in defense. “I-I swear this isn’t what it looks like Akamatsu-sa-”

**STOMP!**

He winced at the pain of getting his foot stomped before looking down at his assailant.

Curiously, she wasn’t looking at him. Moreso she was glaring at Kaede.

Himiko wrapped herself in Shuichi’s arms and muttered one simple word.

“Mine.”

Kaede turned red on the spot, for reasons he couldn’t fathom. As did he, for reasons he could fathom.

Although he had to admit, Kaede looked adorable when she was flustered…

**STOMP!**

“OW! Knock it off!”

“Pay attention to your master familiar.”

“I thought I was your boyfriend?”

“Shut up before I cast another pain spell on you.”

“Is that what that was?!”

He was about to say something to her again when he felt a hand rest on his shoulder.

“...Shuichi my man.” Kaito began, his eyes closed as his face embodied every serious element imaginable. “I finally understand…”

“...Eh?”

“The reason you didn’t put much thought into those chocolates…” The astronaut clenched his fist as manly tears fell down his face. “Was because you already had a cute girlfriend this whole time!”

Maki facepalmed at the exclamation while Shuichi only got more nervous.

“Wha- No!” He rebutted. “That’s not-”

“But tell me…” In a complete one-eighty of his current serious demeanor, Kaito fell to his knees and looked up Shuichi with teary-eyes. “How did you manage to get a girl so quickly?! What’s your secret to conquering the opposite gender’s attention?!”

Shuichi gulped as he heard Tenko start growling again.

“M-Momota-kun-”

“TEACH ME SAIHARA-SENPAI!”

“We’re the same age!”

Before the astronaut could say another word, a quick chop to the back of his head quickly made him lose consciousness.

Several eyes stared at the Ultimate Caretaker in bewilderment.

“What?” She questioned, nonchalant at the fact she just knocked someone unconscious. “He’s was messing up the interrogation.”

“Interrogation?!” Shuichi yelled in shock. Only than did he notice that she, Kaede and Tenko had gotten much much closer to him and Himiko.

“Start… Talking… Now.”

“Saihara-kun… T-There’s a good reason for all of this… Right?”

“What happened with you and Himiko-chan?!”

The three girls in front of him looked as though they could rip him into pieces if they wanted too. And given his current position, he had to agree.

He needed to think. There was just way too much information coming in at once, most of it not matching up with anything he knew! Plus with the bombardment of questions he was getting, Shuichi couldn’t properly arrange all the facts! Maybe Himiko could-

Nope, scratch that. She was asleep on his chest, mumbling how her boyfriend familiar was so warm.

He was actually surprised. Himiko was a lot softer than he had imagined her to be, especially around her che-

Nope nope nope, he was not going to go there. No sir. Bad Shuichi. Bad Shuichi!

“We’re waiting.” Came Maki’s voice. Shuichi grit his teeth. It was now or never.

“...” Shuichi took a deep breath… And pointed in front of him. “What’s that over there?!”

All eyes turned around.

“...I don’t see-"

“CHANCE!” Shuichi immediately bolted out of his seat and ran towards the door, Himiko in his arms.

“...” Tenko blinked as she felt him run past her… Only to get angry once she realized he was running away with her best friend. “SAIHARA YOU SNAKE!”

“Oh! Even better!” Tsumugi exclaimed, sparkles in her eyes. Out of everyone, she was probably the only one who couldn’t read the hostile mood. “This is just like in Love Love 2nd where Hibiki runs away with Hina to get away from everyone questioning their relationship!"

Ouma tilted his head. “But isn’t that an adult manga?”

Tenko immediately bolted after them, screaming bloody murder.

* * *

 

Shuichi kicked open the door to the roof and rushed in, slamming the door with his back when he was in the clear.

He sighed, slumping down to the floor with his back on the door as he breathe deeply, desperately trying to regain his oxygen.

God Tenko could run fast! He knew she was athletic, but he didn’t know she could move that quickly. It was a miracle he managed to get away from her. Maybe those training sessions with Kaito were finally paying off.

Now, onto more pressing matters…

What just happened?!

Everything was just fine up until a few minutes ago! But than Himiko… She… She…!

Shuichi blushed furiously as he shook his head, desperately trying to erase the image of a near love-drunk Himiko sitting on his lap smiling at him. Why did she have to be so cute?! Shuichi wasn’t good with that kind of stuff…

She was adorable, there was no denying that, but…

Shuichi could feel in his gut that something was wrong. Everything she said about their supposed relationship… was wrong.

He never went to a fantasy convention in a makeshift wolf costume.

The two of them hadn’t spent several days together.

He had never confessed to her.

Shuichi Saihara was not Himiko Yumeno’s boyfriend.

And yet… The way Himiko said it. When she looked him in the eye and said…

"I'm Himiko Yumeno. You're lovely girlfriend. And you're Shuichi Saihara. My wonderful boyfriend."

...She wasn’t lying.

It was paradoxical. Despite having the facts on his side, Shuichi could see that Himiko genuinely believed the two were… dating. She truly did think they did all that stuff together. While the thought of him and Himiko walking hand in hand made him blush, there just wasn’t any sense in what she was saying.

“This is… quite the predicament.” Shuichi muttered, biting his thumb. “Could this be some sort of prank? No, far too elaborate. Judging by Yumeno-san’s personality, she would probably just settle on something simple, like a whoopee cushion.”

“Ya darn right I would…”

Shuichi gulped.

Himiko had just woken from her brief slumber, once again sitting on his lap facing him. Why did she always have to make it so embarrassing...

“Hello Shuichi-kun…” She smiled cutely at him, effectively embarrassing him even more. Her face scrunched up in confusion when she noticed where the were. “Shuichi-kun…? Why are we on the roof…? Did you…

...want to do things with me… in private?”

Shuichi immediately covered his nose with his hand and blushed at the implications!

 _“So blunt!”_ He couldn't help but think.

“That’s-” He started. “T-That’s not it at all!” Himiko blinked at the answer, before pouting.

“Oh poo.” She whined, pulling her hat over her eyes. “And I thought you wanted to see another one of my magic shows…”

...Oh. Was that all she meant by that? Man, Shuichi really needed to get his mind out of the gutter…

“I even came up with a new trick… Did you know I can take off my panties without removing them?”

“That sentence doesn’t even make any sense!”

Himiko giggled, putting her hands on Shuichi’s chest. That shut him up quickly.

She leaned closer to him, bringing the boy’s face to an even darker shade of red.

“Hey… Shuichi-kun…?” She started. A chill ran up Shuichi’s spine as her breath hit his lips. Her voice sounded soothing, a little drowsy, but with a special kind of charm to it. It almost sounded… magical.

“Y-Yeah?”

“We… We finally told them… Right?” She looked at him expectantly. Her brilliant orbs looked deep into Shuichi’s. “How we’re… d-dating.” Her face turned rosy at the word. “A-A beautiful mage and her… w-wonderful familiar… together…”

She leaned closer, their faces mere inches apart. Shuichi could feel her body practically melt into his as she leaned in.

“Shuichi-kun… I love you…” Himiko’s eyes had bright pink hearts as she stared into him. Shuichi felt mesmerized as he stared back. “I’m sorry if I went a bit overboard today (even if you did say it was fine with you.)” She smiled at him. “I just wanted to show everyone… how much we mean to each other…

_How much… you mean to me…”_

She closed her eyes, puckering her lips as she obviously tried to claim what was hers. Shuichi couldn’t help but feel entranced at first. Her voice was incredibly soothing…

But once he realized she was doing, he pushed her off of him with a big nope.

Hitting the ground with a thud, Himiko looked up at her boyfriend. “Sh-Shuichi-kun…?”

“Y-Yumeno-san!” Shuichi backpedalled, standing to his feet. “I think there’s been some kind of a mistake!”

“...No there hasn’t…” Himiko pouted as she got up. “I’m your girlfriend and you’re my boyfriend… We’ve been over this before Shuichi-kun… And what’s with calling me “Yumeno-san”?”

He bit his tongue. She sounded… genuinely upset about this. Just how was he supposed to answer that?

“I-I just…” He scratched the back of his head, avoiding eye contact. “I-I think this is going a bit too fast! Shouldn’t we get to know each other a bit more?” Yumeno blinked before pouting.

“Mou… And here I thought you finally worked up the courage to kiss me…” She grumbled, lightly kicking the ground. She looked like a child who had been denied their favorite toy.

“I-I just- Are you even listening to me?!”

“You know… for a wolf, you aren’t very aggressive…”

She totally wasn’t.

“But…” Shuichi muttered, looking to the side. “I’m not a wolf…”

_**“Yes. You. Are.”** _

Shuichi jerked his head back to Himiko, who uncharacteristically let out a small growl.

She was glaring at him, her hands balled up tightly and with a dark look in her eyes. And it could’ve been the stress from the long day he’s had, but he could’ve sworn he saw a blackish aura around her.

 _ **“You’re my familiar wolf…”**_ She growled, her once cheery voice now filled with anger. _ **“And I’m your master… Understand?!”**_

Shuichi took a step back. Himiko’s cute and sleepy personality had done a complete one-eighty. He had never seen her like this before. Even when she was angry, she had never looked so infuriated before. There was something about it that just wasn’t sitting well with him…

He wanted to investigate a bit more, but maybe he should focus on calming her down…

“O-Okay Yumeno-san…” He started, putting his hands up. “Sorry about that. I-I was just… kidding?”

Himiko continued glaring at him, although the dark aura around her slowly dissapeared.

“...Guess it can’t be helped…” She muttered. “My familiar is so dense…”

“Eh?”

“Oh well.” She smiled, looking back at him. “At least I can still do this…”

**GLOMP!**

Shuichi nearly fell over when the small magician quickly embraced him, burying her face in his chest.

“Y-Yumeno-san?!”

“Shh…” She shushed. “Let’s just stay like this for a while, okay…? And… call me Himiko…”

Shuichi gulped, feeling her grip on him tighten. What was he supposed to do in this situation? Play along?!

...Well, she did feel rather soft. Especially two particular things touching him... And she smelled an awfully lot like strawberries…

He obviously wasn’t going to get to the bottom of this if Himiko stayed on his case like this, so… M-Maybe playing along wouldn’t be… that bad?

With shaking hands and a red face, Shuichi slowly wrapped his arms around Himiko, who let out a content little hum.

“O-Okay… H-H… Himiko…”

God this was embarrassing…

But he couldn’t deny that this felt… really nice.

At least no one else was around to see it.

**SLAM!**

_**“SAIHARA!”** _

Well crap.

Shuichi’s head snapped towards the roof entrance in horror as several familiar figures came into view.

“Nishishi… Well, what do you know?” Kokichi started, poking his head out the door. “Looks like we’re interrupting something.”

“Shuichi you traitor!” Kaito yelled at him. “How could you be holding out on me like this?! You gotta tell me how you do it!”

Before Shuichi could say a word, the sound of cracking knuckles rang across the air.

Tenko looked angry.

Well, that was putting it lightly. It’s more like she looked furious.

“Saihara…” She growled, stomping over towards him, getting angrier with each step. “Why were you so close to Himiko-chan?!”

“W-Well I-”

"You dirty degenerate sorry excuse for a human being!”

Shuichi quickly let go of Himiko and took several steps back. “Ch-Chabashira-san! W-Wait! I swear I can explain-”

“NO EXCUSES!”

“Tenko-chan!” Kaede was quick to jump in front of the raging aikido master. “Don’t you think you’re taking this too far?!”

“Geez Tenko…” Himiko pouted. “You don’t have to be so mean to him…”

“T-This is different! It’s a matter of maintaining your purity!”

Her head snapped back towards Shuichi.

“And I’ll be damned if I let some menace have his way with you!”

“Sounds like someone’s just jealous.”

“Ouma-kun! You’re not helping!” Kaede shouted before being pushed to the side by Tenko. Try as she might, Tenko was a lot stronger than her, so she wasn’t much of an obstacle.

Shuichi took another step back.

“Ch-Chabashira-san-”

“Face punishment Saihara!”

Another step back.

Several eyes widened.

“Saihara-kun!”

“Wait, dude! Hold on!”

“Shuichi-kun!”

Another step and…

Tenko’s eyes widened in horror.

_“...Eh?”_

Shuichi lost his balance after that last step. He didn’t understand why… Until he realized something.

_“I’m… falling?”_

He had stepped off the ledge of the roof.

He heard several panicked shouts directed towards him. Many of them in concern and the worry as he fell. But as they came to him, they started getting quieter and quieter.

In fact, the world around him started moving slower and slower, losing it’s color and going into a monochrome state.

Amidst the chaos going through his brain, cycling through the day's events, a figure appeared in his line of sight…

A black and white one.

_**“Puhuhuhu… So, you’re the poor sap that ate Cupid’s Chocolate, ey?”** _

The day was only just getting started.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well that got dark near the end. Will this be a major turning point, spiralling into a drama about the accidental attempt at Shuichi's life? With Tenko regretting her actions and reforming?
> 
> Heck no. This is a romantic comedy, somewhere along the lines of Nisekoi. This is probably the darkest it'll get, and even then it will be treated in a comedic light. Don't you worry about Shyichi here, he'll be fine... Probably. :P
> 
> Welp, that's all for now! Until next time everyone! And remember to be cool and be creative!


	3. Witch Time! - Part 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm ba~ck! Hope you all missed me!  
> ...  
> ...  
> ...  
> ...No one? Geez, tough crowd.  
> Oh well! Here's your chapter!

**Cupid’s Chocolate!**

**Episode 2:**

**Witch Time! - Part 2**

* * *

 

Shuichi never thought he’d find a box of chocolates in his locker.

And he certainly never thought he’d find one on Valentine’s day.

Sitting on his bed, Shuichi stared at box in his lap. The white color scheme revealed a simple rectangular shape, decorated with red hearts and a large red ribbon to keep the box closed.

And then there was the note attached to it in a separate envelop, held together by a red hearts sticker. Opening it, he read the following:

“To Shuichi Saihara, the detective who managed to find all the clues to my heart~! <3

Love, your secret admirer.”

This… This had to be some kind of joke, right? There was simply no way anyone… would like him like that, right? I mean, not that it wasn’t flattering but it just seemed so… unlikely.

Plus they signed it anonymously. Just another hint that this might be some elaborate fib. Heck, he could already imagine Kokichi snickering if he was here…

Than again… The thought of a girl liking him wasn’t an unpleasant one. A-And who knows? Maybe it really was a secret admirer, as much as he was embarrassed to admit it…

Regardless of whether the act was genuine or not, Shuichi did have an uneaten box of chocolate in front of him. It wouldn’t hurt to give them a taste, would it?

With a new found vigor, Shuichi carefully untied the red ribbon holding the box together, and removed the lid.

Inside wasn’t anything special. It was a simple plastic casing, holding eight small heart shaped pieces of chocolate. What it lacked in fanciness, in made up for it with its homemade charm. The chocolates weren’t all perfectly shaped, and some were even slightly larger than others. It actually made him smile a little. Whoever made these was probably pretty nervous…

Or it was just Kokichi, who probably never made chocolate before in his life. But he was trying to be optimistic about this!

Grabbing one of the chocolates, Shuichi could see that his earlier observation definitely held some truth. The heart almost looked like a rhombus if you held it in the right angle. And while it certainly didn’t seem like something all that special…

There was just something about it that made Shuichi curious. Now obviously a taste test wasn't the best of ideas, but at worst this was just another one of Kokichi’s pranks, so the results couldn’t be that bad. So without thinking further, he plopped the chocolate in his mouth.

It tasted… pretty good actually.

Shuichi was pleasantly surprised to find that the chocolate tasted far better than he had imagined. He had eaten some pretty nice sweets in the past, but this was a whole other level! So much that he reached for another piece-

...

Only to realize that there were no more.

Had… Had he gotten so into it that he ate them all at once without even realizing it?!

Blushing at the realization, Shuichi shook his head. Out of all the reactions he could’ve gotten, giving him a sweet tooth was not one he was anticipating…

Whoever made these things had an amazing recipe though.

But with that being said, there was still one question. One that Shuichi didn’t pay much attention to at the time, nor did he think about it much at lunch the next day:

Just who made him those chocolates?

* * *

 

“You know, you’re not really what I was expecting. But oh well! I can work with this.”

Geez… The ringing in his head must’ve been worse than he thought. Shuichi could’ve sworn he heard someone talking to him. But he guessed that’s what happens when you walk off a rooftop…

“Oy! Don’t give me any of that emo crap! This is a romantic comedy dammit! It’s no fun when the main character’s a pathetic piece of “BoohooIWishIWasDead” kinda guy!”

...Okay, now he was certain there was something talking to him. The voice in his head was clear as day, and it didn’t sound very pleased.

“That’s because I finally found your sorry butt and then you go and walk off a building. But that’s besides the point! You have a job to do now! And no little fall is gonna get in your way of doing it!”

Shuichi couldn’t help but raise an eyebrow. A job to do? What was that supposed to mean? Besides, falling of a building wasn’t exactly a little fall-

!

It was at that moment that whatever drowsiness Shuichi was feeling went away, and he regained the use of his senses.

And the first thing he sensed… was that he was falling.

So naturally, he did the only thing any sane person would do in this situation.

“AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!”

Scream like his life depended on it. Which in this case, it kinda did.

“Puhuhu! Hold onto your hat! This is gonna be a bouncy ride!”

* * *

 

“Hagakure, this is completely idiotic.”

“Aw, don’t be so pessimistic Togami-chi! This plan is foolproof!”

Byakuya Togami had to use every ounce of willpower he had to resist rubbing his temples in annoyance. His classmate, Yasuhiro Hagakure was currently finishing up building trampoline that he had brought to school that day.

Why would he bring a trampoline to school? Well according to him-

“At the hour of feast, a being of profound interest shall be caught in my elastic net of bounciness, and hurled to safety. Then, the richest person I know, who shall be there to witness alongside me shall become a believer… Or at least, that’s what my dream said.”

Or as Byakuya interpreted it:

“Hey Togami! Wanna stand next to this trampoline during lunch when something falls on top of it like in my dream?!”

Needless to say, Togami regretted humoring him.

“Out of all of your ridiculous fortunes, this must by far be the dumbest…”

“Hey! My fortunes are always right!” Yasuhiro paused. “Okay, only about 30% of the time, but still! That’s pretty high for a fortune teller!”

“The fact that your best is mediocre is certainly telling…”

“Thanks! Wait- Hey!”

Byakuya sighed, staring at the trampoline he set up. “This is ridiculous. Under what circumstances would anything simply fall out of the sky onto a trampoline?”

“After years of experience in the mystic arts, I’ve learned not to question it.”

“Obviously… Ugh, please. Why’d I waste my time with this?”

“Morbid curiosity?”

“...Besides, nothing’s going to happen. I’d bet a month’s salary on it.”

“Oh? Care to make a little wager than?”

“Fine, but it’s not a wager when I know I’m gonna-”

And at that moment, a certain detective landed on the trampoline, bouncing him towards the bushes.

“...”

“...You were saying?”

“Shut up Hagakure.”

* * *

 

“Owowow… Thorns… In my back… And my legs… And everywhere else!”

As much as Shuichi was glad at the conveniently placed trampoline he landed on, getting flung towards a thorn bush wasn’t exactly pleasant either. But it certainly beat turning into a splat on the ground.

Shuichi shook his head as he got up from the shrubbery, shaking off a good number of thorns as he did so.

“Ouch…” He muttered, rubbing his backside. “That could’ve been messy…”

“You’re telling me!”

Shuichi shrieked when a figure jumped up in front of him.

“You’re lucky I found those trampoline guys when I did! A little memory manipulation and poof! Instant landing zone!”

That voice! That was the voice he heard when he was falling! Recovering from his shock, Shuichi looked forward-

Only to see nothing.

“Down here big guy.”

Shuichi looked down.

Staring back at him was a black and white teddy bear.

The bear raised its paw.

“Hi there!”

It moved?!

“Wh-What the-” Shuichi took a step backwards. “What are you?!”

“Now that’s the reaction I was looking for!” The bear clapped with glee. “Now, let me introduce myself! The name’s Monokuma! Nice to meetcha! What’s your name?”

“Um… Shuichi Saihara” Shuichi absentmindedly responded, still trying to wrap his head around what was going on.

“Great scott that’s a mouthful!” Monokuma covered his ears in mock pain. “I’m just gonna call you Shu! That okay with you?”

“Well I-”

“Great!” The bear let out a laugh. “Shu it is then!”

“H-Hold on!” Shuichi yelled, making the bear stop. “Who are you? What are you anyway?”

“That’s an easy one!” The bear nodded. “I’m hear to help you out with your little dilema!”

Shuichi raised an eyebrow. “What are you talking about?”

“I mean Cupid’s Chocolate silly! You know! The thing making Miss Magic Pants all gaga for you.”

“Cupid’s… Chocolate?” He repeated. The name was foreign to him, yet it sounded… familiar to him at the same time. And… it had something to do with Himiko’s behavior? “You know about what’s going on with Yumeno-san?”

“Well yeah! You know, those chocolates you got yesterday during Valentine’s!”

Now that made Shuichi lean back in shock. How did this… toy bear know about that of all things?! Did… Did it have anything to do with them?!

And what did they have to do with Himiko’s bizarre behavior?!

Monokuma, sensing Shuichi’s inner turmoil, was about to answer before noticing something.

“Look, I’d love to explain, but first we got to get rid of the unwanted company.”

Shuichi blinked at the answer before turning around.

His classmates had all followed him. And they were looking for him.

Shuichi bit his tongue. He could see the worried faces on each and everyone of them. Even Tenko, who was partially to blame for making him fall off the school building was frantically looking for him. He felt bad at not letting them no he was okay…

But…

Looking back at the bear, Shuichi weighed his choices. Go to his friends and deal with them and a delusional Himiko…

Or go hide with this bear, who apparently had answers he was looking for.

…

Well, he was still skeptical about this whole “talking teddy bear” business, but…

“A-Alright…” Shuichi whispered. “Follow me… I think I know a way out of here…”

“That’s the spirit! Man, maybe this job won’t be so bad after all!"

* * *

 

“Saihara-kun?! Where are you?!”

Is what Kaede yelled for the thirtieth time as she and her class searched the school grounds for their Ultimate Detective. She bit her cheek nervously as they all looked around, hoping to find some indication where he was.

After watching him land “safely”, the class wasted no time in going down to look for him…

That being said, He hadn’t showed up yet and they were starting to get pretty worried about him.

Kaede bit her thumb in frustration. Just where could he have gone? It wasn’t like Shuichi to just disappear like this… Could he be worried that Tenko was still mad at him?

No, Shuichi had a good head on his shoulders. He wasn’t one to hold a grudge, especially if he knew it wasn’t someone’s fault… And judging by the way Tenko was ripping apart those bushes looking for him, she could guess she felt bad about the accident too.

“Has anyone found anything?” She voiced, hoping someone had made any progress.

“Nothing over here!” Came the near unanimous reply. The pianist slumped her shoulders and let out a heavy sigh in frustration.

“Geez Miss Andry! I didn’t think you’d be ballsy enough to send him flying of the rooftop!”

“Wha-?!” Tenko, who was still searching through a bush, shot up and glared at the inventor. “Tenko did no such thing! It was an accident!”

“Well you did scare him into backing up.” Kokichi mentioned from behind a tree. “And he never would’ve ran up there if you hadn’t scared him in the first place!”

“Ouma-kun! Knock it off!” Kaede snapped at him. “Look, while I may not agree with what Tenko did, she didn’t do it on purpose! So let’s stop wasting time arguing and look for Saihara-kun!"

“Akamatsu-chan’s right.” Kaito said as his head popped out of a bush, scaring several people around him. “We’re wasting time just chatting around here! We’ve gotta go find him, fast!”

“Um… Everyone?”

A timid voice from within the group made everyone stop. All eyes turned to the one person it could’ve been.

Tsumugi, finally realizing the gravity of the situation, looked extremely worried at her recent realization.

“Has anyone seen Yumeno-san?”

* * *

 

“You know, you sure can run when you put your mind to it. Are you sure you’re not the Ultimate Athlete or something?” Monokuma said to the fallen form of Shuichi Saihara as he laid on the floor, doing everything in his power to catch his breath.

Shuichi made a note to himself to never _ever_ run like that again in his life. It was the only way he’d be able to get away after sneaking past everyone, but his earlier marathon that day made him the experience all the more tiresome.

“You okay there?” The bear asked him, waddling up to his side. He held one paw in front of his face. “How many fingers am I holding up?”

“I-I’m… fine…” He wheezed sitting up straight. “I just need a moment to… to catch my breath…”

“Sorry to say this Shu, but time’s something we don’t get right now.” Monokuma said, taking out an oversized pocket watch from behind his back. “I need to give you the rundown on Cupid’s Chocolate before anything else happens to ya. And judging by your luck, that might happen pretty soon.”

Ah yes. Monokuma had information he needed. Time to get it over with.

“By the way… Where are we anyway?”

“T-The park.” Shuichi admitted. “It was the closest place I could think of. I don’t think they’d check here without scouting the rest of the school first”

“Welp, at least you got a good head on those shoulders!

“L-Look this whole… Cupid’s Chocolate thing isn’t making much sense.” The detective admitted scratching his head. The talking bear wasn’t making much sense either, but he decided to leave that part out. “All I did was eat chocolate I got on Valentine’s day… And how would that affect Yumeno-san anyway?”

“All very good questions! Let me start from the beginning!” Monokuma pulled out a whiteboard and a red marker. After a quick scribble on one side, he turned it around to show Shuichi.

The drawing wasn’t anything special. If he hadn’t seen Monokuma be the one to draw it, he would’ve thought a child had drawn it up. It as a simple box of chocolate, not unlike the one he was given. The words “Cupid’s Chocolate” were written above it, along with a few hearts around it.

“Cupid’s Chocolate is a very rare and unnatural piece of confectionary.” The bear started, pointing at the box. “No one is exactly sure how they appear. All that we know is that they always seem to show up in one kind of place.”

The bear erased his original drawing and quickly drew something else. It was a crude scribble of Shuichi, holding the box, and Himiko, a dark aura around her body.

“The chocolate only seems to show up whenever it senses several females facing a dark depression in their hearts, so it seeks out a worthy candidate to help out to remove this darkness.”

“W-Wait…” Shuichi stopped him, holding up a hand. “How do pieces of chocolate… sense things? Or look for anyone?”

“I’m… still working on that part to be honest.” Monokuma admitted sheepishly. “Look, all that I know is that they show up whenever there are girls in trouble, okay?”

“Okay…”

But… Wouldn’t that mean…

“Yumeno-san’s… depressed?”

“Er… Not exactly.”

“What does that mean?! And why the heck would those things “choose” me?! I don’t even know what I’ve been chosen for?!”

“I’m getting to that!” Monokuma barked before scribbling another drawing on his whiteboard. “The chocolate is like an antivirus against whatever they’re feeling. It’s the surefire way to get rid of it! An unconventional one, but still effective.”

“But… Wouldn’t she have to eat the chocolate than?”

“Nope, that’s not how it works. You see, in order to get rid of that darkness, the chocolate simply replaces it with something else!”

“Which is…”

“Love of course!”

Shuichi blushed. “E-Eh?!”

“Well duh!” Monokuma said, rubbing his neck. “Cupid’s Chocolate essentially turns whatever sorry chump that eats it into the beacon where all that girl’s love goes to. It’s like a fish to a lure! She can’t get enough of you even if she tried!”

“L-Love?!” Shuichi backed up, eventually hitting his back on a tree. “W-What the heck?! How does that even make any sense?!”

“Not everything does!” Monokuma admitted with a blush. “But the point is, that chocolate picked you for a reason. And it’s certain you can clear up whatever darkness she’s got!"

“W-Well then that chocolate is wrong!” As ridiculous as disagreeing with chocolate sounded, Shuichi just couldn’t wrap his head around it. “This is just too surreal! How am I the one that’s gonna help her with-”

_**“You’re my familiar wolf… And I’m your master… Understand?!”** _

Shuichi stopped.

This… darkness in her.

He had seen it.

“How do I…” He looked over to Monokuma. “I-I saw whatever darkness she had! Why is it still there if she l-loves me than?!”

“It doesn’t just… go away ya know.” Monokuma started. “It’s still there, just ridiculously dampened. It’s your job to get it out. If you do, the chocolate won't have any more reason to make you a beacon for her love anymore! You'll be home free!”

“A-And then what?”

“And then-” Monokuma bared his fangs. “You can leave the rest to me.” Noticing Shuichi’s confused expression, he continued. “I’m what you call I dream eater. Kinda. The only thing is, dreams aren’t all that appealing to me.”

“...But darkness is?”

“Exactly! Although, I personally like calling it... 

_**...despair!** ” _

As much as Shuichi tried, he couldn’t help but feel extremely unnerved by the expression Monokuma was making… But regardless, he finally got some answers. Illogical and somewhat confusing answers, but answers nonetheless.

“B-But… How do I get the despair out of her?”

Monokuma paused, putting a paw to his chin. He let out a long whine as he tried to come up with an idea. He raised one paw to the sky and said:

“I don’t know!”

…

…

…

“Eeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeehhhhhhhhh?!”

“What, do I look like Sherlock Holmes?! You’re the detective here! You figure it out! Just get me my meal!”

“H-How do you expect me to solve something like this! I work with cases grounded in reality! Not this kind of- This supernatural insanity!”

“Nyah~ That’s not nice Shuichi-kun… You know you’re pretty much supernatural insanity too, right?”

Shuichi froze.

His head slowly turned around, coming face to face with the girl leaning on the tree. Her face, while still sleepy, had a smile on her face.

Himiko smiled.

“Hello Shuichi-kun.”

This was gonna harder than he thought.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> No Shuichi's were harmed in the making of this chapter. :P
> 
> Welp, that's it for this one. I was honestly hoping to end the "Himiko Arc" here, but it ended up getting longer than I'd hoped. But hey! Now we got a little more info on Cupid's Chocolate! Althought not all has been reavealed yet... Looks like I'll have to save the fluffy stuff for next time. Will Shuichi be able to find a way to overcome the despair in Himiko's heart? Or will she stay gaga for him forever? Find out next time on Cupid's Chocolate!
> 
> On a side note, the autbors of some of my favorite stories all bookmarked my story, especially the author of the best Sainaga story out there... That's just awesome :D
> 
> And remember to be cool and be creative!


	4. Witch Time - Part 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well I'm late. How I managed to put this off for... several months is beyond me, and believe me when I say I'm sorry.
> 
> But I know you folks aren't here for an apology! You guys want more Cupid's Chocolate? Welp, here ya go!

**Cupid’s Chocolate!**

**Episode 3:**

**Witch Time! - Part 3**

* * *

 

“Nyeh… Doesn't this feel nice Shuichi-kun? Just you, me, all alone here…”

“Y-Yeah. I s-suppose it does feel… n-nice.”

_ “Or more like the exact opposite!” _

Is what Shuichi thought as Himiko snuggled closer to him, desperately holding onto him to make sure he didn’t run away again.

Apparently Himiko had managed to catch a glimpse of him running out of the schools grounds, and because she was still a bit peeved that their private time together got interrupted, she decided to follow him… without telling the others.

She didn’t want her friends to worry, but she wasn’t taking any chances this time. This was their long awaited private time and she was gonna get it, dammit!

Although if one looked closely enough, you could tell this feeling was a bit one sided.

The Ultimate Detective was currently pinned down with his back against a tree,Himiko’s weight pushing him down and turning him into the world’s most embarrassed body pillow. He was surprised Himiko of all people was perceptive enough to watch him sneak away AND manage to catch up to him so quickly. She was usually so...lazy. He chalked it up to the chocolate’s effect on her. It was the only logical explanation, if logic could even be applied to the situation anymore.

_“Speaking of which…”_ Shuichi thought, glancing around. _“Where did Monokuma go?”_

Ah yes, Monokuma, the self proclaimed dream eater that gave him some insight about this mess.

Shortly after Himiko tackled him into the tree, a feat he’d forever find humiliating ‘till the end of his days, the monochrome spirit just… vanished.

Poof. Gone. Without a trace.

It was concerning, and that’s putting it lightly. Had Shuichi imagined him as a coping mechanism for the stressful day he had just went through? Or were his claims of being a dream eater true and simply disappeared to not be seen by Himiko?

Well regardless, he had other pressing matters to attend to.

To be specific, two matters pressing onto him .

_“How can she not tell this position is embarrassing?!”_ The detective thought as he tried his best to ignore the oddly pleasant feeling-

“Shuichi-kun? What’s wrong? And why’s your face all red?”

“I-It’s nothing! Nothing at all!”

The magician pouted at him, but said nothing. She only continued to snuggle closer to her boyfriend.

While it was certainly embarrassing, Himiko’s silence let Shuichi reassess the situation as best as he could.

Because of Cupid’s Chocolate, Himiko’s inner darkness, her “despair” as Monokuma put it, was currently being dampened by it’s strange love attracting properties. In other words, because she was in love, her despair wasn’t going to bother her. Almost like some sort of emotional barrier...

That being said, he couldn’t he couldn’t just let her live the delusion of the two of them dating forever! Monokuma said that he had to find a way to get the despair out of her. But how exactly was he going to do that? He barely even had a clue as to what she was despairing about in the first place! How was he-

_**TAW-TAWK! TAW-TAWK!** _

“...Well that’s a funny looking bird…” Himiko muttered, looking up at one of the tree branches. Shuichi’s head immediately snapped towards the bird, only for his jaw to fall open.

It was a sparrow, but not just any sparrow. It had a very distinctive look, with half of its feathers being white, and the other half being black. That and one of its eyes was oddly colored red.

_“Are you kidding me?!”_ Shuichi’s inner voice shouted as he easily recognised who the bird was.

“TAW-TAWK!” The bird repeated, gesturing towards the magician girl in his lap with his beak. “TAW-TAWK! TAW-TAWK!”

Shuichi blinked. Those chirps of his sounded like…

“Talk?”

“Nyeh?” Himiko stared at her boyfriend. “What was that Shuichi?”

“O-Oh! Well I was…” He trailed off, wracking his brain for some kind of subject to talk to her about. Something he could use to get out of this mess. He need to draw out her despair, right? So what could he say…? “...I was just think about how we started… You know, d-dating?”

Himiko stared at him for a moment, making him gulp. Did he say something wrong? Well, whatever worries he was feeling were quickly dashed away when Himiko giggle, putting her hands on her cheeks.

“Hehe… Oh Shuichi~ You sure know how to make a girl blush.” She muttered cutely, staring at him with hearts in her eyes. “I’m so happy I decided to give this a chance…”

“U-Um…” Shuichi blushed. The fact that he had apparently confessed to her was still something he had a hard to wrapping his head around. “You’re welcome?”

“Dummy…” She booped his nose and giggled at his blushing face. “Say it like you mean it… Otherwise I’ll turn you into a wolf again.”

There she goes again with that wolf thing. Jesus, why was she so fixated on that. He understood that she had a thing for magic but wasn’t this taking it too far?!

“There’s… no need for that Yu- Er… H-Himiko-chan…” Shuichi chuckled nervously. Himiko nearly caught his slip up and glared at him. He needed to think of something because that glare was starting to scare him more than he’d like to admit. Quick! “I just found it strange how a c-cute girl such as yourself would possibly fall for a guy like me…”

“Nyeh?! C-Cute?! Since when were you so bold Shuichi-kun?!” The magician turn away, her cheeks scarlet, but one could still see that she seemed oddly happy at being called cute. “It’s not nice for a familiar to play with his master’s heart like that… But I guess…”

Shuichi blinked as Himiko trailed off. She wouldn’t look at him for a while, opting to stare at the palms of her hands instead. The detective was worried she might have hurt them somewhere in the grass before-

“Uwah-!”

Like a cat, Himiko pounced on him, wrapping her arms around his neck and  knocking his and her hats off in the process.

Needless to say, Shuichi reacted they why anyone would in this situation.

“Gah-ha-ha!” Mouth open. Mouth close. Like a fish out of water. “H-Himiko-”

“Teehee… Gotcha…” She smiled. That love drunk smile that was starting to haunt him. “All to myself…” Her eyes had hearts in them as she leaned closer. “For as long as I want.” Shuichi could feel her breath on his lips, making his already beet red face turn even darker, if such a thing was even possible. The smell of her hair invaded his senses… And it smelled a lot like strawberries. “My darling… wolf... familiar…” And with that she closed her eyes and puckered up, her lips just mere centimeters away from Shuichi’s own.

While a small part of Shuichi’s brain told him to go for it, he was thankful he had at least a better grasp on his rational side. Although with Himiko quickly closing the distance. What could he say that could get her to snap out of it?! Help her with her despair or whatever you want to call it?! What could Shuichi do?! He- He-

“B-But I’m not a wolf! I’ve told you that already!”

…

Himiko stopped, leaning back slightly.

Shuichi was glad he had been given some more breathing room and that he had gotten out of such an embarrassing position… But one look at Himiko’s blank face made him start to think he had settled on a very poor choice of words.

She didn’t look angry just… blank. He couldn’t tell what kind of emotions she had going through her head… Which was somewhat comforting, she was usually too lazy to show off any emotion anyway. But to just… Go from lovestruck to this at the drop of a hat? Something was very wrong here.

“...Yumeno-san?” Shuichi question, sitting up. Himiko was still in his lap, but he could at least sit up straight now. “Are you feeling okay?”

Curiously enough, the first thing she did was laugh. It was a dry laugh but… “That’s funny Shuichi. But you really shouldn’t play around like that.”

“...Excuse me?”

“Of course you’re a wolf Shuichi. And I’m your master. You’re my familiar. Remember?”

...What.

“Y-Yumeno-san…” Shuichi stared at her incredulously. “Are you even listening to yourself?”

“W-What are you talking about Shuichi-kun?” She stuttered. Her face scrunched up in frustration as she realized something. “A-And what’s with calling me Y-Yumeno-san?! I’m your master! I’m ordering you to call me Himiko-chan!”

“Yumeno, this is getting out of hand.” Shuichi explained with a sigh. “I’m just a plainfully average detective. I’m not some mythical creature like you keep saying I am.”

“T-That’s not true!” Himiko’s hand balled up into fists as she stared at Shuichi, her eyes shining some kind of hope that he was just playing around with her.

“Sorry Yumeno-san, but it is.”

“NO IT’S NOT!”

Shuichi nearly fell back at the sheer harshness that came out of her desperate voice. In a flash, Shuichi swore he saw something burning around Himiko.Something dark… Something terrifying. She was glaring at him, her hand balled at her sides and her eyes burning with a rage he had never seen her with before.

“You’re my familiar! You promised me you’d be my familiar! You-... You…!” She trailed off, the dark aura around her dissipating. She stared at the ground, her shoulders trembling as her hair hid her eyes from Shuichi’s view.

...Sniffling? Was…

Was Himiko crying?

“...You h-have to be my familiar…” She choked out, tears beginning to stream down her cheeks. “I-If your not then I can’- Then I can’t…!”

Shuichi stared in shock at the girl who’s personality had done so many flips in the last few minutes alone. What… What was going on with her?! Was this because of the chocolate…? Was this her… despair?

“Yumeno-”

Without a second thought, the magician stood up from Shuichi’s lap and ran, as fast as her legs could carry her. Away from Shuichi.

“H-Hey!” In a heartbeat, Shuichi bolted  after her. “Yumeno-san!”

“Leave me alone!”

“No! Yumeno, wait!”

She couldn’t get very far from him. Thanks to his longer legs, his workout sessions and her somewhat lazy lifestyle, catching up to her was pretty easy all things considered.

Grabbing her arm, Shuichi struggled as Himiko tried to squirm out of his grasp, twisting and trying to toss him away.

“L-Let go of me! You big meanie! Y-You pervert!”

“Pervert?! Yumeno knock it off! What’s wrong with you?”

“There’s nothing wrong!” She shot back, not even looking at him. “I just have a dumb boyfriend who doesn’t know how to make his girlfriend happy!”

“Himiko!” She stopped squirming for a brief moment, allowing Shuichi to spin her around and grab her by the shoulders.”Look at me! I’m here to listen! So tell me what’s wrong!”

“I-I…” Himiko stuttered, staring at her boyfriend’s dark eyes. They were focussed and yet kind looking. Fierce yet gentle. The kind you’d see on a… A… “WAAAAAAAAH!”

Himiko hiccupped before wrapping her arms around Shuichi, burying her face into his chest as she started bawling. It wasn’t… the reaction he was expecting, if he was going to be honest.

“...Why?”

“Huh?”

“Why couldn’t you pretend to be my familiar for a bit longer?!” Himiko yelled, pounding a small fist into his chest. “I-It made everything so much easier…”

Shuichi blinked in surprise. She knew he wasn’t actually a wolf but… What did she mean by making it easier?

“What do you mean?” He questioned, making her whimper into his chest.

“It’s just…” She sniffled again. “It’s easier to talk to you when you’re a wolf. I don’t need to worry about showing you how I feel. I don’t need to worry about you telling this kind of stuff to anyone and…

...I don’t need to worry about you abandoning me.”

…

“I-I know I’m not the most energetic girl, heck just this speech is making me tired already, but I c-can show my emotions too! I have feelings too! I-I’m just not good at showing them… I’m not like Tenko who’s so lively… Or Angie, who’s always so optimistic… Or even like Kaede, who’s pretty much a walking ball of sunshine! Or- Or-...”

She stopped, biting her lip as she clenched her eyes shut, a futile attempt to stop her tears from falling.

“Y-You… You and I had something in common… For once I had someone who talked to… Someone I could actually share my feelings with just fine… A-And you’d rely on me, because I’d be your master and you wouldn’t have to worry about having to deal with a lazy… A l-lazy emotionless girl in your life all the time! I just… I just…!

I just wanted to be useful for once!”

...So that’s what all this was about.

Himiko was about to hit Shuichi in the chest again before she felt a pair of arms wrap around her. “Sh-Shuichi-kun?!”

“Yumeno…” He chuckled. “Are really worried about something as silly as that?”

“Wha?” The magician backed up, staring up at the detective’s face. He still looked incredibly bashful, his face flushed red and an awkward smile on his face. But there was something in his eyes that Himiko couldn’t help but stare. Something… sincere. “What do you mean?”

“Himiko, do really think you need something as extreme as pretending to be my master to show emotion? Everyone in our class likes you for who you are Himiko. You don’t need to be some all powerful wizard to prove anything to us.”

“B-But I…” She bit her lip, turning away. “Everyone else is just so lively, a-and all I do is l-laze around…” She let out a dry laugh, her gaze falling to the floor. “Tenko and Angie… I don’t even know why they hang around me! They’re the two most lively people in our class and yet they both hang around me of all people! Me! I’ve tried being more open, really! But I just… I think they’re better off without me-”

“No, that’s wrong!” The detective’s voice rang out, snapping Himiko’s attention back to him. “Tenko and Angie? Better off without you? Don’t say stuff like that Himiko!" He spoke firmly, looking the magician in the eye as he spoke. She reached for her cap to cover her face, but realized it had fallen off earlier. "Himiko, you may be not be the most... outgoing person in our class... Heck, I'd say you're probably the hardest person to read in our class. O-on an emotional level, that is." Realizing he was getting off track, he shook his head. "None of that means that you're some emotionless robot... Honestly, if our time together is an indicative sample-"He smiled. "You probably have more emotion than most people. Tenko and Angie see that too! That's why they like spending so much time with you."

Despite the tears stinging in her eyes, Himiko could very clearly see a genuine smile on Shuichi's features. She couldn't help but feel her face flush, putting her hands on her cheeks and looking away embarrassed. "B-But I... I'm still no good at showing them. I just want to get better at it! Is that so wrong?"

"Not at all." Shuichi pondered for a moment before nodding. "So I'm gonna help you."

"N-Nyeh?!"

"I'll help you with this Yu... H-Himiko-chan." He scratched his cheek, obviously embarrassed by using her name like that, especially in their current situation. "You may not show much emotion now but... With a little help from me, Tenko, Angie... Your friends... Well Himiko, you don't need to be afraid of showing your emotions anymore." Walking up to the magician, Shuichi raised his right hand and gently put it on top of her head. Himiko, immediately tensed at the display of affection, lowering her head in a futile attempt at hiding her embarrassment. "So stop saying that you're not good enough for people just because of that Himiko... You're important to us. To all of us."

She was quiet for a moment. So quiet that Shuichi was worried he might've said something to upset her. But soon he felt her hiccuping, and before he could react, Himiko had wrapped him in a tight hug, bawling her eyes out into his chest. Shuichi couldn't help but give a sad smile before wrapping his arms around her, in protective manner.

Did he do it? Was her despair finally gone, or was there something else he had to do?

"...Hey S-Shuichi-kun?" Himiko muttered in the detective's chest, getting his attention.

"Yes Himiko?"

"You said that you'd help me express my emotions more... Right?" She looked up at him, a hopeful look in her eyes, one that made Shuichi realize just how close they were.

"U-Um... Of course Himiko! I did just say that, didn't I?" He tried to play it off cooly, but the awkward tone in his voice proved that he was far too embarrassed by the situation that he'd like to admit.

"T-Then I-" She paused, biting her lip. "...There's one thing I wanted to try then... To see if it could help me."

That... was surprisingly vague. So much so that the detective had to raise an eyebrow. Something she wanted to try? Well if it would help end this chocolate fiasco and get thing back to normal, he was all for it.

"S-Sure thing than Himiko." He said, smiling at her.

"You sure?"

"Definitely."

She didn't say anything, she just kept staring at his face. Shuichi frowned at the lack of a response. Was she okay? Was she having second thoughts, or was she-

_**HMPH!** _

It took Shuichi a second to process what was going on. The scent and taste of strawberries instantly invaded his senses, he felt a pair of arms snake around his neck and he was being pulled awfully close to Himko's fa-

...Oh.

Himiko was kissing him.

His eyes wide and and arms no longer around the magician, Shuichi could only stare as Himiko kissed him. It was a simply kiss, just a soft chaste kiss on his lips. And yet she was a tad forceful, not wanting to let him go. Her lips were soft, like a marshmallow, and seemed to meld perfectly to his. At that moment, he didn't know what was happening to him, but he wrapped his arms around her, and deepened the kiss.

And he kissed her with the same amount of gentleness and with the same amount of love.

If he had kept his eyes open, he would've noticed the dark aura leaving the girls heart.

And as quickly as it started, the two separated, panting and faces crimson.

“...Hehe…” Himiko chuckled, smiling up at his bewildered expression. “That’s some way of showing emotion, huh?”

* * *

 

**_-HIMIKO YUMENO-_ **

**_*HEART CONQUERED!*_ **

* * *

 

Pain!

So much pain!

That hurt it! IT HURT!

What made it hurt! It hurt so bad! IT MUST NOW! IT MAKE IT HURT MORE!

It wreathed and twisted it's malleable form, like a sentient shadow it looked for what caused it great pain! It was happy! It had a host and it was growing fine! Why did it get sent out? What would have sent it away?! It needed to know! If it didn't, it'd be able to grow and eat and-

A great surge of pain wracked it's form as a paw like shape stepped on it.

"Puhuhu! Going somewhere?" The bear like figure spoke. Staring down at the writhing shadow. "Poor thing thought it could get away... Well too bad! You're not going anywhere anytime soon!" The shadow was confused at first before recognising the being in front of it. It tried to squirm away but a wicked smile from the bear was all the confirmation it needed.

It was gonna die.

"Well, now that he did his job, time to do mine! _**It's punishment time!**_ "

* * *

 

When Shuichi opened his eyes again, he was expecting to see Himiko's cute and adorable face staring up at him lovingly, and probably say something witty about her stealing a kiss from him.

"W-What the-?!"

What he wasn't expecting was to be back in the cafeteria.

Something was very very wrong here.

He was in the school cafeteria once again, although it was noticeably less crowded than in the afternoon. He was seated at his usual spot, and yet Kaede, Kaito and Maki weren't anywhere around.

Raising a hand, Shuichi promptly slapped himself in the face, hoping that this was some kind of hallucination.

Lo and behold, it wasn't.

He felt... oddly refreshed? Yet extremely confused at the same. Wasn't he at the park with Himiko? Wasn't it night time already? How was he in the cafeteria when it was so late anyway? And why were there people here too? And what happened to Himiko?! Was she okay?! What was-

"Oh, Saihara-kun, you got here early!"

"WAH?!" Shuichi jumped out of his seat, letting out the most unmanly scream he had ever heard. Raising his head, he could see Kaede and the others, giving him the most awkward stare he had ever seen. Needless to say, the embarrassment hit him hard. "O-Oh... Uh... Hi everyone?"

"Geez, why are you so on edge Shuichi?" Kaito asked him, taking a seat in front of him. "Are you still thinking about those chocolates from yesterday?"

Shuichi blinked... before immediately shutting down.

He... He remembered the chocolates?! And- Wait a minute! Weren't they chasing him around earlier because of Himiko! Is that why they were here?! H-He needed to get out of there! Fas-

"Oh please." Maki rolled her eyes, sitting next to the astronaut and taking out her lunch. "The only person who's still on that is you, idiot. Might I remind you who didn't get ANY chocolate on Valentines?"

"Oof..." Kaito put a hand on his chest. The cuts Maki's blade of truth inflicted cut deep. "That was hitting below the belt Harumaki..."

"Don't call me that."

Shuichi blinked. What... were they doing. Th-They knew about the chocolates, like he had told them but... Why weren't they curious about Himiko again? And why were they acting like that had happened yesterday anyway!

"Saihara-kun?" Kaede's voice cut through to him quicker than ever. He turned to the blonde girl who had sat next to him. She stared at him worriedly, almost like a mother looking out for her child... The analogy made Shuichi look like a tomato, but he tried to ignore the rising heat. "Are you okay? You seem awfully worried about something." She leaned closer to him. "Did you get enough sleep last night? Are you feeling okay?"

Shuichi opened and closed his mouth repeatedly, but no words came out.

"Quite babying him Akamatsu. Your boyfriend's not gonna grow up if you do."

Maki's words instantly made Kaede realize she had gotten far too close to Shuichi's personal space and immediately backed off, both their faces burning up. "S-Sorry about that Saihara! I was just worried! You seemed upset about that letter yesterday and- and-"

"I-It's fine, Akamatsu-san..." He laughed nervously, reaching for his cap...

Which was on his head again.

This was... strange. He looked up at his friends. Kaede had quickly bounced back up and she was now animatedly talking to the others. He could see the rest of his class talking around the cafeteria too, none of them even casting a glance in his direction. It was like... Whatever had happened yesterday didn't happen at all... Or maybe they couldn't remember it.

They obviously remembered some of it, seeing as how they knew about the chocolates, but they seemed to forget the part with Himiko...

He chuckled.

Well, apparently... He did it. He could only remember a few vague things between the k-kiss with Himiko and right now, like going home and falling asleep, and it felt FAR too real to be a dream or a lucid fantasy. Unless Miu had managed to spike everyone's lunch yesterday... But seeing as he was the only one dealing with anything unusual... He had done it.

Himiko's darkness was conquered. And know, he could go back to his normal life.

He smiled, a tired but pleased smile.

Life was good.

"Um, Saihara-kun?"

Shuichi jumped and turned around, the voice behind him sent chills down his spine and it was one he had become incredibly familiar with.

There she was, her short red hair as lovely as ever. Her eyes were in that perpetual lazy state and then there were her sweet soft strawberry flavored-

Shuichi immediately looked away, the image of him kissing Himiko still very fresh in his mind.

"Ha! Typical degenerate! Not even looking at a girl when she's talking!"

Well that was new.

Looking back at the magician, Shuichi saw that it wasn't just her. Tenko and Angie had come with her. And while Tenko wasn't exactly looking all that pleased, Angie and Himiko were looking friendly enough!

"Hello there Yumeno-san! Chabashira-san! Yonaga-san!" Kaede greeted with a wave. "What brings you here?"

“Well-” The artist began, squishing her cheeks in a way that made her look cute. “We were going to sit by our usual table, but than Yumeno thought we should come sit here with you guys today!”

Shuichi blinked, looking over at the magician. Noticing his gaze, Himiko blushed and grabbed the brim of her cap with her hands.

“I-It’s not like it’s anything special… I just thought maybe it’d be fun for all of us to sit together…” The detective blinked. Did she… remember anything?

“Yeah, we were actually talking about finding someplace else to sit at lunch last night too! What a coincidence!” Angie chimed in, smiling brightly. “So here we are!”

Shuichi sighed in relief. If that was the case then… Himiko probably didn’t remember anything. About their run around the school or the kiss.

“That’s… actually not a bad idea Yumeno-chan!” Kaito smiled at her, only to receive a fierce glare from a certain aikido master.

“Tch. I would’ve prefered it if you had picked a table that didn’t have so many degenerates sitting on it…” Tenko muttered loud enough for everyone to hear, earning the classic anime sweatdrop from everyone. “But she seemed rather determined to sit here.”

“Well I don’t see a problem!”

“All good ladies!”

“Sure, sit wherever you want.”

“...” Shuichi looked over at Himiko and smiled.”Sure thing Yumeno-san. We don’t mind.”

A blush and a smile appeared on her face before she took a spot next to Shuichi, Tenko sitting next to her and Angie going over to sit next to Maki.

“You know Saihara…” The magician couldn't help but think while staring at him. “I bet you’d be a really cool familiar.”

“Hmm? Did you say something Yumeno-san?”

“Oh nothing. Nothing at all~.”

To one Kokichi Ouma, the sight was rather hilarious. Tenko of all people willing sitting at a table with TWO degenerate males? Heresay. It was unthinkable. And seeing Angie strike (or at least try to) such a vivid conversation with Maki? Good luck with that. Or Himiko trying to slowly scoot closer to Shuichi when no one was looking...

…

“Nishishi… Well, what do you know?” He whispered to himself, staring at the duo. He couldn’t help but smile… Before his eyes landed on the adorable redhead again. His heart skipped a beat staring at her before sighing. He shrugged once before staring at the reader.

“Some guys have all the luck.”

And with that, the mysterious, average ending event in Shuichi’s life was over.

* * *

 

“Hiya Shu! Nice place ya got here!”

Well, not exactly.

The detective blinked slowly, the towel draped around his shoulders slipping onto the floor as he stared at the black and white bear currently standing in his bedroom. 

“A little bland to be honest though. You ever thought of putting up a few posters? You look the kinda guy who’d enjoy hanging up some movie posters here and there.”

Shuichi’s reaction?

Scream.

“What are you doing here?!” Shuichi yelled, rushing towards Monokuma and pointing an accusing finger at him. He had just walked out of the shower after a long LONG day. His brain was tricked into not getting sleep for two days too, with the whole chocolate fiasco, so he was more than ready to go to bed early.

A sentient teddy bear showing up was not part of the plan.

“What’s it look like Shu?” The bear asked, tilting his head in confusion. “I’m here to help you with Cupid’s Chocolate!”

“T-That’s impossible! I helped Yumeno-san with her problem!” He refuted, glaring at the bear. “I don’t have any reason to deal with you anymore!”

“What do you mean? What about the other chocolates?”

“Other… chocolates?” Shuichi paused. He had eaten all the chocolates, hadn’t he? He got so into it that he ate them all in one go right?

Cautiously, Shuichi looked at the closed box of chocolate on his table. With a few slow steps, Shuichi reached over and grabbed the box, opening it slowly.

Seven pieces of chocolate were there to greet him.

“Wh-Wha-What?!” He shrieked, immediately dropping the box on the floor. “But I- How did- Who the-”

“Puhuhuhuhu! Man this is hilarious!” Monokuma laughed deviously, munching on popcorn that Shuichi had no idea where he got it. “You didn’t think the little witch girl was your only target, did you?”

“What do you mean?!”

“You’re the detective! You figure it out!”

“...” Shuichi put a hand on his chin, wracking his brain on the impli-

!

Including the one he had already eaten...There were eight pieces of chocolate.

Including Himiko... There were eight girls in his class.

Realization made Shuichi fall to his knees in horror.

“N-No…”

“That’s right! We’re not stopping till we get the despair out of your ALL the gals in your class, ya feeling me? So chin up and get your game face on Shu! You’ve got hearts to conquer!”

“My life…” Shuichi cried out in fetal position, tears running down his cheeks.

“I just want my life back!”

So the question remains.

Who’s next?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yeah~, don't answer that question. Please. I have an idea of the order of the girls I want, so please no arguing in the comments about it or requests, please.
> 
> Now this chapter took FAR too long for me to write, and I have to say I'm sorry for procrastinating so long. Lot's of new game releases, my job, moving to a new country, etc. I've been busy. But I promise I'll at least TRY to bring the next chapter faster to you guys.
> 
> I hope you've enjoyed it, and I'll see you all next time! And remember to be cool and be creative!


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